Watch that scene

See that girl, watch that scene, diggin’ the dancing queen

See that girl
I awoke the next morning without too much of a hangover. Drew had the day off work and would be acting as my tour guide for the day so after a coffee we set off for Parliament Hill, collecting tickets for a tour of the main parliament building later that day. We had a couple of hours before our tour time so we headed over to the market area for a walk round and to get a late breakfast/early lunch. We went to a great Italian deli that Drew told me was known for its tasty freshly made sandwiches and tasty deli staff. The sandwich lived up to the hype, the staff were a little more on the “would not” side, for which Drew apologised.  He said the quality was normally a lot better. I said it wasn’t his fault. The Canadians really do like to apologise. For everything.

Cat parliament

After our lunch we made our way back up to Parliament Hill, taking a walk around the outside of the buildings. Drew pointed out various things, filling me in on snippets of Canadian history. We saw the “cat parliament”, a collection of small wooden huts inhabited by stray cats who are fed and looked after (a euphemism for being spayed/neutered) by volunteers from parliament. We headed back to the information tent in time for our tour. After clearing security we were shown around the Centre Block of Parliament, being taken into the House of Commons and the Senate as well as the Library of Parliament, the only part of the building to survive the fire of 1916 that destroyed the rest of the building. It was amazing to see the inside of the Parliament building, something I don’t think you can do back in London without an appointment to see an MP.

View from the Peace Tower

During the tour our guide, Jenny, asked the group questions about Parliament, former Prime Ministers. Drew got very excited shouting out quite a lot of the answers before she had even finished the questions. He wanted to finish top of the class. Outside the Senate were portraits of all the kings and queens of Canada. Jenny, while standing in front of a large portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, asked who the current Queen of Canada was. Even I was able to answer that one. After the tour ended we waited in line to go up the Peace Tower, which offered great views across Ottawa and Gatineau. The whole thing was totally free as well, which appealed to both my accountant side and my Yorkshire roots.

Watch that scene

That evening my hosts took me to a bar called Flamingo for a fundraising event for the Ottawa Wolves Rugby team. The event, The Price is Tight, was a take on the classic game show The Price is Right. The drag queen hosting it was good fun, even if he/she didn’t always quite know what was going on or how the games worked. Plenty of the rugby team were in attendance, wearing their rugby kit, which gave us something nice to look at while the games progressed. There was even a homemade Plinko board. Sadly I didn’t get called out for any of the games, but then again I wouldn’t have had a clue how much things cost over here anyway. After the games had ended we went to Dan’s for a nightcap before heading home. Drew and I sat up having a late night snack while watching the Golden Girls. I asked whether there was a McClanahan street anywhere in Ottawa. Drew asked why. I said I would love a photo of a sign that said Rue McClanahan.

The following day I had a bit of a lie in. I had been due to go out for a bike ride with Shawn, but he got called in to work. I didn’t fancy a bike ride on my own, figuring it would be safer if I had someone to follow to keep me on the right side of the road.  Instead, I made my way up to the War Memorial to join the crowds who had gathered to see Wills and Kate, who had just arrived on their first official overseas engagement as a married couple. There were a lot of people out lining the streets, all hoping to catch a glimpse of the royal couple. I managed to get myself fairly close to the front. The roar of motorbikes and police sirens signalled the arrival of a stream of black vehicles with tinted windows. The crowds pressed forwards trying to get a glimpse of who the passengers were. After a minute or so the doors opened and Stephen Harper, the Canadian PM, got out. There was a collective groan of disappointment. The security services responded to the requests of the crowds to move the cars so they could get a better view, dropping them back and parking up down a side street. The Canadians are very polite.

Diggin’ the dancing queen

Wills & Kate

Shortly after, another set of cars arrived. Wills and Kate got a massive cheer from the crowds as they stepped out of the cars. The crowds were very welcoming, cheering for the young couple as they made their way to the Memorial. I managed to get a photo of the back of their heads. I’ve never been out to see the Royals back home at anything. The excitement in the crowd was contagious & gave me goosebumps despite the warm weather. The women in the crowd mainly discussed what Kate was wearing and how pretty she was. She had changed from what she was wearing when she boarded the plane early in the day. The general census seemed to be that they loved that she was wearing a Canadian designer and that they all thought she was very pretty. And lucky to have landed herself a prince. They consoled themselves with the fact that Harry was still unmarried and that they might end up with him, a sentiment I could easily agree with.

I met up with Shawn later that day, he apologised for having to cancel the bike ride. We went for dinner at a little pub called The Manx, round the corner from D&G’s place. The place was virtually full when we arrived but we managed to find a table and enjoyed a couple of pints with our dinner. The place was in a basement and had the feel of a slightly run down English pub. The food however was amazing. I had a massive pulled pork wrap with potato wedges. I struggled to finish it all but Shawn graciously helped with the wedges. We had a conversation about the Isle of Man, where the pub had got its name. I tried to explain the three-legged man on the flag, remembering the facts from the times I had been over to the Isle of Man with my best friend to visit her family. I am sure she would have been impressed with the number of “facts” I managed to reel off (Tynwald being the oldest continuously existing ruling body, it having the largest working waterwheel in the world…).

After dinner we met up with D&G, Dan and a few more of their friends, heading to a bar called Look Out for a few drinks. They warned me that it would be a busy night as the following day was a public holiday for Canada Day. The place was busy when we arrived and filled up quickly. The Happy Hour, from 10pm to 11pm, saw me get through a couple of G&T’s and a shot of something that tasted like liquid Haribo Tangfastics. After the Look Out closed a few of us had a nightcap (a theme of my nights out in Ottawa) at D&G’s before getting to bed ahead of the big Canada Day celebrations.

“See that girl, watch that scene, diggin’ the dancing queen” 
Lyrics from Dancing Queen from the musical Mamma Mia!